


Houses United

by Winterstar



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Angst, Comfort, M/M, Steve Tony fest, labeled m/M but this is just a start, they are just friends for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 08:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1851880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterstar/pseuds/Winterstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony finds one of the first years in a corner of Hogwarts. He looks a little lost, and a little lonely. Tony knows just the solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Houses United

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Steve and Tony fest - this is my gift for [moriartyhai](http://moriartyhai.tumblr.com). I hope you like it. I was prompted with Harry Potter AU or no AU at all. This is what I came up with. I hope it is good enough, I love HP but I am not an expert in it. I depended a lot on this most excellent [post](http://too-many-fandoms-in-one-mind.tumblr.com/post/87544553178/it-seems-that-the-sorting-hat-tends-to-place) to figure out the sorting with some changes. I give all the credit to "Too many fandoms in one mind" on tumblr as well.

When Tony spots one of the first years, he's sitting in the corner near a large window of castle. It's drafty and cold out, the kid is probably going to blow away. He's rail thin and sporting a wan pallor. Tony wonders if he should bring the first year over to the infirmary and sit on him until Madam Pomfrey has her way with the waif.

He only hesitates because he knows how it is, how it feels to be the one out of the group, a loner. He's been an outcast from his home for years and when his letter arrived he celebrated and jumped for joy while his father only cursed and his mother cried. Eventually, because Tony was more than a little bit of trouble, they sent him to Hogwarts and everything change for Tony. He'd been placed in Ravenclaw and flourished, met his best science brother, Bruce Banner, and things improved. Of course, there was the lunatic who haunted him down the hallways, Loki from Slytherin but his older brother, Thor from Gryffindor usually kept him in line. So, things were good for a third year like Tony, but he still understands how it feels to suddenly be thrust into a world you never knew existed.

He approaches the kid and stands there, a little awkward and stupid, but he says, "Hey."

The kid looks up with eyes that mirror the sky behind him in the window. Tony holds back his gasp; the kid is thin, sickly, but possesses a beauty that shouldn't be legal. He coughs once to try and pretend he's not a jerk and says again, "Saw you got into the legendary Gryffindor."

The kid scratches at the back of his neck and nods. He has a pencil - a muggle pencil - in his hand and he's got a muggle sketch book on his lap. Tony peers at the page, the landscape outside the castle in charcoal pencil with a few clouds grace the page. It's a beauty, and Tony smiles.

"That's pretty damned good."

"Don't curse," the kid says and Tony scoffs at him.

Here he is trying to be nice and the kid is actually a jerk. He's about to turn around and leave him to his own devices, his lonely little world when the kid says, "I miss her."

Tony stops and says, "Who?"

"My mom," the kid says and flips the page over to a sketch - really a mature drawing - of a woman in her mid-to late thirties. She has the same eyes, Tony would gather from the shape, but he can't tell the color in the black and white of the charcoal and paper, but somehow the kid's captured it. It's more like magic than anything he's seen at Hogwarts.

"You'll see her at Christmas break."

The kid only half smiles and shakes his head. He looks up at Tony from his seat on the ledge of the window. "No, I won't."

It hits him, some of the students can't afford to go home for the holidays and - like always - Tony offers impulsively. "Sure you will. I'll buy you a ticket."

The kid kind of laughs half in his throat. "Can't buy a ticket to -." He halts and swallows back the rest of his words.

For the first time, Tony realizes the glistening in the kid's eyes is because he's been crying. "Hey, hey, what, what's wrong?" For some, homesickness hits pretty hard.

The kid shrugs his shoulders and says, "My mom's dead. She died before I got the letter."

"Oh," Tony says and the words sound hollow, empty, and useless. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry. But you got-." He points to the kid as if the letter will miraclously appear. "You got a letter."

"Yeah, I got the letter, I was staying at Peggy's, with her family. She's one of my friends," the kid says. "I was going to go home, be with Bucky's family. He's my best friend, but then I got the letter. Peggy was so excited that I got the letter, but now-." He trails off and stares out the window again.

Tony steps over to the kid, sticks out his hand, and says, "I'm Tony, Tony Stark. I'm in Ravenclaw. You meet Thor yet? He's headboy over at Gryffindor. His brother is a dick."

The kid colors a little at Tony's description but he chuckles a bit into his hand at the same time. "Loki? Yeah, he's a dick."

"Hey, you got a name?"

"Rogers, Steve Rogers," He says and sticks his hand out to grasp Tony's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Good to meet you too, Stevie."

"Steve, not Stevie," the kid says in a commanding voice. It's surprising how strong and dominant the kid can sound considering how thin and lanky he is. Without even using magic, Tony could knock him over with the wind from his wand when he waves it around.

Tony puts up his hands and says, "Okay, okay, Captain, you got it. Steve. Or Captain. Yeah, I like Captain."

"Stop making fun of me," Steve says and fumes. It's actually pretty cute when he turns all red like that in his anger. His pale cheeks flare red with spots of heated blush. "Take it back, take it back."

"Geez, Steve," Tony says and puts his hands up in surrender, again. "What the hell? Calm down."

Steve deflates like a shot out tire, his shoulders slump, the heightened color to his cheeks vanishes. "No, forget it, never mind." Steve runs a hand through his hair. It's a mess. "Just my dad, he was military."

"Military? In the Queen's service?" Tony says but he doubts it because the kid sounds a lot like Tony - like he's a transplant from New York City. While Tony’s from Manhattan, if he's not mistaken the kid's probably from Brooklyn. A home boy and this burns bright in Tony, like an invisible tether between the two of them.

"No, US, he died in Iraq," Steve says. "I never even really knew him. He died when I was little, just a few years old."

"That's rough," Tony says. "Bet he was a hero." Tony tries to offer something, but it feels meaningless again. "Sorry."

"That's okay, I think of him as a hero."

Tony slaps him on shoulder and smiles. "See, bet you'll be a real hero like him, like you'll be called Captain America."

He doesn't balk at Tony's new nickname for him, even smiles and it's a gorgeous one at that, tightens a bit in Tony's belly and he has to breathe through it. "How'd you get over here?"

"My mom, she got a job as a nurse, but it was for a widower, who was pretty sick but wanted to move back home to England. We ended up here."

"But when she died, you stayed?" Tony knows he should pry but curiosity has always been his weakest point.

"Well, the widower was Peggy's uncle, and we'd become friends. I was only supposed to stay for a few weeks until everything was arranged for me to stay with Bucky's family. The letter came and then all kinds of craziness. Lots of people talking to other people. I mean it made my head spin. Doctor Erskine, he was the widower my mom worked for, he pushed for me to come here. Said his wife came here back in the day. Whatever that means."

"Wow, that sounds fucked up," Tony says with a roll of his eyes. 

"Hey, watch your mouth," Steve says but blows out a breath. "But yeah it was and I didn't even believe in magic."

"Yeah, generally, I hate magic," Tony says.

"Then?"

"Well, I'm always curious, and truth be told, I am not going to be put off if there's even the chance to learn something new and figure it out. I intend to find out what this magical crap is all about, you know. Already, some of the professor are eying me, think of me as I'm a trouble maker. Want to ship me back to the States."

"You don't want to go?"

"Not really, I'd rather keep a good distance between me and my old man, thank you very much." Tony clasps Steve around the shoulders and steers him through the castle. He wants to go back to his lab and show Steve around - show him what it is to try and debunk magic at its heart. "Me and Bruce are working on some things, some experiments you wouldn't believe. We're going to show the whole thing is just advanced science."

"How do you account for-."

Tony leans in close and whispers, "Listen, it all started with Da Vinci. He was the first one, or what I can tell. I don't really know. But Da Vinci put together all kinds of stuff, you know advanced scientific stuff that the Church all tried to smother. All of Da Vinci's followers kind of went underground. And what do you get? A bunch of people running around saying they're wizards and witches."

"Are you sure of this?"

Tony throws back his head and laughs. "Of course not, Captain, that's the beauty of experimentation and observation. We'll figure it out."

"We'll?"

"Yeah, you, me, Thor, Bruce - you met Bruce?"

"Um, no, I don't think so."

"You're lucky, he's got an anger management problem. I'll introduce you, don't worry." Tony knocks him in the shoulder. "How about Clint and Natasha - she's a hottie, but don't tell her that. She's Russian and will squeeze your brains out of your skull with her thighs."

"Ew, yuck, that's gross," Steve says and looks a little green.

"Don't - you gotta weak stomach or something?" Tony says, but doesn't wait for a reply. "Don't worry, Pepper will set you up. She's kind of amazing with the potions."

"Everyone in Ravenclaw but me and Thor?" Steve asks.

"Nah, we're a different group, believe in crossovers. We got Bruce and me in Ravenclaw. There's also Thor's girlfriend, Jane. Then you and Thor in Gryffindor."

"And Sam, you can count him in too," Steve says. "I think he'd be a good fit."

It amazes Tony how fast Steve shoulders on a leadership role in his ragtag group of students.

"Also Coulson, though he's a little straight laced," Steve says.

Tony laughs but agrees. "Yeah he is. Natasha's in Slytherin and so is Loki. He's a little creepy, but he's talented in this whole magic thing. I think he'll be a good source of information."

"Good, good," Steve agrees. "And the rest?" He's focused now as if Tony's invitation presents a new purpose.

"Well, Pepper's in Hufflepuff and so is Clint. And then there's Darcy, she's with them and a little freaky but nice. You'll like her."

"So, you're all a crew, a team?" Steve says. "What for?"

"What'd'ya mean, what for?"

"Well, just what are you - just hanging out?"

"Something like that, but I think the lot of us are testing things, you know." The scrutinizing is a little unsettling and Tony slips his arm from around Steve and stuffs his hands in his pockets. He rarely wears his mandatory robe. It concerns him that maybe Steve is some kind of plant by Fury. Headmaster Fury is a pain in the ass to Tony. "What's your game, Captain?"

"Not sure what you mean?" Steve lifts a shoulder and he still looks like the picture of innocence. His pink full lips, his wide blue eyes with the long lashes, all add to the perfect picture of someone Tony would fall for. Damned Fury knows too much about him.

"You're working with him, aren't you?"

"With him, who?" He still looks innocent. The little punk.

"Fury, you're trying to pin the explosion in the greenhouse on me, aren't you?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about-."

"Good act. Your mother's probably not even dead, is she?" Tony spits out, he can't believe he fell for the act. The little cuss, he's so sweet and frail looking, of course Tony would act the hero and try and help him out.

Steve's face drains of all the color that Tony's inclusive words added to it. The healthy pink fades away and his expression turns desolate, lost, and harsh like ice in the winter. Maybe it is just the lighting, maybe it's a mirage, but Tony swears Steve's lips are lined blue and his cheeks look silvered like he's been touched by winter itself. "I-I, why would you say that? I lost everything, everyone. I don't even belong here. I don't know anyone. My mom died, she got the strange flu down deep in her lungs and she got sick. I couldn't even see her because of my asthma. They finally let me in the last few hours. I watched her die. I held her hand. Why would you say that, why would you?" He's near tears but holding them back, like a good soldier trying to stay stoic in the face of defeat.

"Oh Christ, I-I," Tony says and steps up to Steve. Even though the younger boy tries to fight, struggles against Tony's embrace, he finally succumbs to it, surrenders to the warmth of Tony's arms. "I'm sorry. I just don't trust anyone easily. Been beaten over the head by some piss-ants in my day. I'm sorry, Captain."

He rubs a hand down Steve's back and Steve settles against him, his head perched on Tony's shoulder. Tony stays quiet, doesn't make any type of jokes or anything as Steve breaks down in his arms. Finally, he pushes away from Tony and wipes his nose on the sleeve of his robe. "Sorry."

"Don't be, I deserve boogers on my shirt. I can be a bastard sometimes." Tony waves him off.

Steve shakes his head but still a smile shapes his mouth. "That's right, you can be."

Tony smiles back at Steve and, when the small curve of his lips turns into a bright brilliant grin, Tony slings his arm around Steve's shoulders again. "Tell me Captain are you in? Are you ready to forge a new day here at Hogwarts?"

“Yeah, I guess, but what’s it all about?”

“About Captain? About?” Tony leans in close and whispers, “You ever hear of a kid named Potter?”

Steve’s eyes grow luminous and awestruck. “Um, yeah, I heard about him.”

“Well that kid ended up having to defend the whole fucking world over and again because the teachers here and the head guy here didn’t really let any of the information flow down to the kids. Can you imagine the fate of the world on the back of a kid?”

“Seems a little,” Steve hesitates. “Wrong?”

“You got that, and that is why we are putting together-.”

“All the houses, uniting them,” Steve finishes. “Because divided we fall, united we stand.”

“Yep, you got that right, Captain. We’re a team. Right?”

"Sure, sure? But what's this collaborative team gonna be called?"

"Does it need a name?"

"Sure it does, we're probably gonna need a secret hand shake and everything," Steve says. "We need to know who's in the group and who isn't."

"Yeah, that's right." Tony thinks on this for a moment.

"How about the Avengers?" Steve says.

"What are we avenging?"

Steve raises an eyebrow and says, "Skeptics? Heretics? You know, we're not just accepting everything thrown at us. We're questioning, searching, avenging for the truth."

"Hmm, it could work."

"Course it will work, I mean we're teenagers-."

Tony looks him up and down and huffs at him.

"Or almost teenagers, we aren't going to just accept whatever's thrown at us. We're avenging the truth and science. All that good stuff."

"I think that's stretching it," Tony says.

"Maybe, but what did Potter and his friends do? Accept? If he'd just accepted things, where'd we be?" Steve says. "I think they were avengers too. So, I think we're just carrying on the tradition."

"Geez, Captain, you know a lot about history, don't you?" Tony says.

"Well, it's my favorite class," Steve says.

"Okay, then," Tony says. "Let's go get our team together. It's time to re-establish what's needed around here."

"What's needed?"

"Yeah, Captain, a good round of avenging and truth seeking."

Steve nods and Tony knows they've just embarked on a new age at Hogwarts, the age of the Avengers.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> If you want you can follow me on [tumblr](http://winterstar95.tumblr.com). I hope it worked for everyone, crossing over/fusing is difficult with a fandom that is HUGE and I know just a tiny bit about!


End file.
